All Over the Granite Coast of Newfoundland

For love of lovely words, and for the sake
Of those, my kinsmen and my countrymen,
Who early and late in the windy ocean toiled
To plant a star for seamen, where was then
The surfy haunt of seals and cormorants:
I, on the lintel of this cot, inscribe
The name of a strong tower.

"Skerryvore," by Robert Louis Stevenson             

These words grace the doorway to the lighthouse tower at Rose Blanche Lighthouse on the Granite Coast of Newfoundland, a coast that was the scene of many a shipwreck and seaman's demise.  While written about a home of Stevenson's in Scotland called Skerrymore, the quote is doubly appropriate to Rose Blance Lighthouse, not only because the lighthouse was a strong tower erected for the safety of seamen, but also because it was designed by the engineering firm of Robert Louis Stevenson's father.

More on this later, but first an introduction.

We've just barely started our visit to Newfoundland, and we already don't have enough time to see everything we want to see.  What happened?  There's even more here than the tourist information suggests.  Hiking?  We could use a trail or two.  Fine, we have EIGHT great trails to choose from, and we haven't even gotten to Gros Morne National Park.  Lighthouses?  Three in the area.  Waterfalls?  Also three.  This was a day that was frustrating in its demand that we choose the very best of the best, and dispense with the rest.  How do you choose among your children?

The southwest corner of Newfoundland, often locally called the Granite Coast, has a history shaped by fishing and boat service to Nova Scotia.

The road east from Channel-Port Aux Basques, where the Nova Scotia Ferry lands, travels only about 45 kilometers before it simply ends, just east of Rose Blanche.  But the natural sights are innumerable.  This is only one of many gorgeous rivers and streams tumbling down from the Long Range Mountains to the north, into the Cabot Strait:

And so few people to populate the area!  Even with relocation of people from fishing villages decimated by the loss of cod fishing in the 1990's, the remaining towns are not large.  Don't expect to find a petrol station or restaurant when you want one.  Shops and tourist centers are open when the locals find time.  This is a hard-working region, but the locals rely heavily on themselves.  Resources can be far away.

Rose Blanche (a corruption of the French, "Roche Blanche," or "White Rock") has gathered in residents from smaller nearby fishing towns.  It perches along two cliffy hills surrounding Rose Blanche Harbor and nearby Diamond Cove:

We drove to Rose Blanche to see the lighthouse, which all of the locals rave about.  We were not disappointed.  The lighthouse was constructed in 1871 of huge granite blocks and perches out on a granite point beyond the town:

It consists of a lighthouse tower combined with the lightkeeper's house.  The only other structure on this promontory is of classic design and provides a magnificant view for contemplation during those quiet, private moments that we all cherish:

The lighthouse ceased to operate in the 1940's, and slowly fell into disrepair.  In the 1990's, probably because so many people were out of work due to restrictions on cod fishing, local community groups obtained the funding to reconstruct the lighthouse in its original form.  We watched a video of the reconstruction and were astounded at the hard work and commitment of those who rebuilt the lighthouse using methods of the 19th Century.  Today, not only is the exterior completely renewed, but the interior has been fit out beautifully and furnished as it would have been, perhaps in the late 1800's or early 1900's.  You could imagine the lighthousekeeper or his wife sitting at their breakast table, gazing out this window on the beautiful coastline below:

The reconstruction was so complete that we could walk throughout the interior and even climb the stone steps just to the opening of the light housing itself.  David took this photo down the stairs at Kathy below:

Here is another view of the lighthouse, looking back toward the town of Rose Blanche:

Our next stop was a hike to the Barachois Falls, along a well-manicured trail and boardwalk, across alpine tundra sprinkled with gorgeous tarns:

We are told the falls are much more impressive at the height of the spring thaw, but is pretty impressive nevertheless, even with less water flowing, due to its rocky setting among granite hills and boulders and small fir trees:

If you're curious, "barachois" is a term used in Atlantic Canada to describe a coastal lagoon partially or totally separated from the ocean by a sand or shingle bar. Salt water may enter the barachois during high tide.  While Barachois Falls do not directly fall into a barachois, their stream eventually does.  There are barachois sprinkled everywhere along the Granite Coast.

Working our way back toward Channel-Port Aux Basques, we stopped in Isle Des Morts to walk the Harvey Trail, which is as notable for its history as it is for its coastal beauty:

The town cherishes a story dating back to 1828, when George Harvey and his 17-year-old daughter Ann, 10-year-old son Tommy, and Newfoundland dog Hairy Man rescued nearly 200 people in two separate shipwrecks off the southwest coast.  The story is one of the heroic effort from a small Isle aux Morts family and its generosity the hundreds of survivors for the weeks they awaited transport back to Europe.

Driving further west, back to Channel-Port Aux Basques, we noted one of the many "boulder signs" that local establishments have hand-painted to advertise their location.  The painted boulders add wonderful local color to the highway drive:

We decided to have dinner in Channel-Port Aux Basques, and after our meal we strolled along the waterfront boardwalk, peering down at the most beautiful, clear green waters, and up at the colorful vendor shacks on the main street, which are active every week for various celebrations:

Our time was getting late, so we hurried north along the west coast from Channel-Port Aux Basques and stopped in J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park to admire the beautiful sandy beaches, cradled, as it were, between two rocky capes:

From the park, it was a short Jeep-trail drive up to Grand Bay toward the Grand Bay Lighthouse, which is a bright red-and-white landmark along the coast south of Codroy Valley, where we are camped:

From the lighthouse, we had a clear view up the coast, all the way to Cape Aguille, where the Cape Aguille Lighthouse we had visited yesterday is perched.  It's not the near cape, but the far one; looks pretty far away:

In Grand Bay, we happened upon some lucky RV'er who had found an ideal perch above the rocky shoreline for his or her little piece of heaven:

We can't help but end this blog entry with a view of the Long Range Mountains, which run northeast from Channel-Port Aux Basques, along with a little bit of the local flavor visible from the main highway back to our campground: